History of the town of Houlton, Maine, from 1804 to 1883

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SENEAUOGY COLLEICTION

ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

3 1833 01092 2372

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HISTORY

OF THB

TOWN OF HOULTON.

(MAINE.)

[FROM 1804 TO 1883.

BY AN OLD PIONEER.

Uaterhill, Mass. :
C. G. MORSE & SON, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS.

1884.

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HISTORY OF HOULTON.

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. Since of late it has become customaiy to give the
historical account of towns in New Enq-land, the writer
of the foUowinor has, from the novel and extraordinary
circumstances under which Houlton was settled, been
induced to make a brief statement of facts connected
with its rise and progress, for a series of years ; and to
give a simple, unvarnished statement of facts as they
occurred.

As the primitive inhabitants have principally, (as
must be expected,) passed from the theatre of action,
perhaps there is no one more familiar with the incidents
of the early histoiy of that little colony, who would
have taken upon himself the trouble and assumed the
responsibility of the task, than the writer. The reader
must be sensible that the circumstances and events as
they occurred, are of such a heterogeneous character,
that they must appear, even if judiciously arranged, i]i
a desultory, chaotic state, which would require the gifts
and genius of a Kane or a Livingston to embody in a
form and phraseology that would endure the criticism
of a historian.

In order to give an account of the primitive history of
Houlton, and of the original Trustees of New Salem
Academy, we must refer the reader to some extracts

4 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

from a letter from our venerable friend, the Rev. Al-
pheus Harding of New Salem, Mass., in reply to a re-
quest made for information contained in the records of
New Salem Academy" ; he being familiar with the history
of that institution, having been connected with that
time-honored school, either as pupil. Assistant, Pieceptor,
or Trustee, nearly sixty years. Mr. Harding writes :

" In regard to New Salem Academy, I find by the
records, it was incorporated Feb. 25, 1795, and the orig-
inal Trustees named in the act of incorporation, were
Rev. Joel Foster of New Salem, Solomon Reed of Peters-
ham, Joseph Blodgett of Greenwich, Joseph Kilburn of
Wendell, David Smead, John Goldsbury, Jonathan War-
ner, David Saxton, Ebenezer Mattoon, Jr., Daniel Bige-
low, Martin Kinsle}^ and Ezekiel Kellogg, Esqs., Samuel
Kendall, Varney Pearce, and Asa Merriam; that in Oct.,
1797, Daniel Bigelow, Varney Pearce, and Rev. Joel
Foster Avere chosen a committee to sell the half town-
ship."

But it appears from the records that in the autumn
of 1804 at the annual meeting of the Trustees, Ebenezer
Mattoon, Samuel C. Allen, and Samuel Dickinson were
chosen a committee to convey said lands to the following
persons, viz.: Aaron Putnam one-eighth, |625; Varney
Pearce, one eighth, |625; Joseph Houlton, 11000; John
Putnam, 1500; Joshua Putnam, $500; Rufus Cowls of
Amherst, 1500 ; John Chamberlain, |500; William Bow-
man of Hadley, ff250 ; Consider Hastings, |250 ; Thomas
Powers of Greenwich, |250 ; total, 15000. Mr. Harding
writes, " These lands, being far from any settlement in
Maine, at that time were unsalable, and the purchasers
being involved and unable to sell these lands, concluded
to dispose of their farms in New Salem and remove into
the wilderness and make new homes. This deprived
New Salem of many worthy and good families, and of
its most public citizens."

\

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 5

In the summer of 1804, Messrs. Joseph Houlton, Aaron
Putnam and Oliver Taylor, left New Salem for the
province of Maine — came b}^ land to Bangor, where they
hired an Indian with his canoe to convey them to the
river St, John. They proceeded up the Penobscot to
the Mattawamkeag, thence up the Baskahegan stream
to the portage of the Schoodic Lake, where the Indian
proposed to them that he would describe the way, so
they might proceed on their journey without him. Mr.
. Houlton having passed the same route before, thought
^ from the knowledge he had of the lake and the country,
that he could pilot them. The Indian returued and
they went on, crossing the lake, but they became bewil-
] dered, lost their course, and landed on tlie east shore,
where they rambled off in the wilderness, got lost and
were for days without food. They came to a brook,
Vi. where there were fish, but the desideratum was to catch
J^ them. With Yankee ingenuity and invention, impelled
by the keen demands of starvation, they took a shirt,
tied up the neck and arm-holes, bent a stick in the form
of a hoop, which they fastened to the other end of the
linen, in the fashion of a dip-net, with which they con-
trived to outwit the fish, makii^g captives of several
trout and suckers, which helped to sustain life. They
proceeded without guide or compass, wandering through
swamps, climbii^g over windfalls, camping wherever night
found them ; exposed to the constant annoyances of the
black-Hies and mosquitos ; thus, wandering in a track-
less wild, with naught to rouse them from their dreary
solitude, save the discordant croakings of the crow and
raven, or the tremulous halloo of the loon, and tlie
screeching of the mimic owl, what must have been their
emotions at the first discover}^ of the foot-prints of civ-
ilization, when they finally reached the bank of the St.
John, 35 miles below Woodstock. They came to a cot-
tage, the residence of Mr. Harper, and called for food.

^

6 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

The good woman, beholding their sad condition — gar-
ments torn, limbs scratched and bruised, from the snags
and bushes, their pale, emaciated features, directly pre-
pared some fresh salmon, in a manner as simple and
harmless as possible, of which she gave them sparingly,
lest they should eat too freely ; her husband being ab-
sent. Having tarried there until they became restored,
by the benevolent and judicious treatment of their kind
hostess, they asked for their bill of expense. To which
she replied, "We never take pay of strangers." Mr. O.
Taylor, with his accustomed pleasantry, casting an in-
quiring look around, asked, " Of whom, then, in the
name of wonder, do you take pay ?" With a mutual
blessing and friendly farewell, they pursued their jour-
ney up river to Woodstock, from whence they went to
view what the}^ called the promised land.

After taking a survey of this section of the country,
having had a mid-summer view of their anticipated
home Messrs. A. Putnam and Taylor were as much
pleased with their land and prospects as were their pre-
decessors ; and confirmed the favorable report of the first
discoverers ; probably not aware of the short summers
and long cold winters of this high latitude, nor fore-
seeing the destiny which awaited those pioneers wlio,
for years, were isolated in the heart of this then wild
region. But it appears to have been the design of the
Creator that this wilderness should, ere long, be con-
verted to the use and benefit of man; that the giant
growth of this beautiful forest was to yield to the axe
of the woodman, and this desert become a fruitful field.

In the summer of 1805, Mr. Aaron Putnam and fam-
ily, accompanied by Varney Pearce, Jr., Samuel Houlton,
and Luther Tyron, left New Salem for the eastward, as
it was then called. They came on board a vessel from
Boston to Fredericton, from thence in boats to Wood-
stock, 60 miles above Fredericton. Mr. Putnam and

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 7

family remained at Woodstock while the young men
proceeded to what is now called Houlton, and felled
the first trees in the place.

The circumstances connected with the settlement of this
new colony were indeed novel. What could have induced
the inhabitants of New Salem to purchase wild land in
the interior of the district of Maine, at a sacrifice of the
privileges and enjoyments of churches, schools and society,
and embark in such an enterprise — to encounter the
privations, perils and hardship of establishing a petty
colony in this region of frost and snow, in a latitude of
more than 46 degrees, appears to be a problem of mys-
terious solution. .':..■ ;■■ • :

Capt. Joseph Houlton, wife' and eight children,' viz :
James, 'Samuel, Joseph and Henry, sons, and . Sarah,
Polly, Lydia and Louisa, daughters, left New Salem iox
-Houlton Plantation, as it was then styled, in the summer
of 1807, and arrived at Woodstock after a safe and
speedy passage by water from Boston.

Leaving the daughters at Woodstock, the others, as-
sisted by kind friends, cut a bridle path to Houlton,
the matron following on horseback, with her china tea-
set carefully packed in a basket, hanging on her arm,
supported by a pillow, — a very necessary appendage to
their outfit — for, after the fatigue of so long a ride,
wending their way on a zigzag line, they would require
something from that cup which ^^ cheers but not intoxi-
cates." They came to a thicket of cedar, where they
left the horses, and became pedestrians the last two
miles, to the long-sought promised land,
' Joseph Houlton and family, Samuel Cook, Esq., his
son-in-law, and James Houlton, who waa married the
day previous to their leaving New Salem, constituted
the first three families of that novel forest home.
'. The: first object, after their arrival, was to obtain fire
Jand food-'to refresh.-the weai?y occupants^ . After adjusting

8 HISTORY OF HOUSTON.

the limited supply of kitchen utensils, with the order
and neatness of New England housekeeping, they baked
their bread without chimney or oven, in a bake-kettle,
or '^ Dutch oven," as it was called, with a cover to it,
hung on a pole supported by stumps or crotches, or
placed in the corner with coals above and beneath.
This was one specimen of their culinary operation by
which many barrels of flour have been baked by the
first settlers, until they could obtain materials for build-
ing. They usually commenced with a small cabin made
of spruce logs, locked together at the four corners ; the
inside hewed off to an even surface. Among the nobility
they would even make the outside to compare with the
inner. The roof consisted of rafters ribbed with small
poles, and covered with bark or split cedar ; and, until
a chimney could be built, a large aperture was left
through the roof for the smoke to ascend to its accus-
tomed altitude. The spacious fire-place, large enough
to burn small mill-logs, was constructed of stone and
clay mortar, up to the mantel-piece ; the chimney above
was made of cedar sticks, laid up cob-house fashion, and
plastered with a thick covering of mortar mixed with
oat straw.

But to secure these temporary habitations from the
insidious intrusion of Jack Frost, they caulked the crev-
ices between the logs with moss gathered from trees.
This was the humble style of log-cabin architecture.

The long winters passed off almost imperceptibly,
while they were busily engaged preparing timber and
getting materials for building fences, thrashing their
grain and cutting firewood, which was no ordinary task,
as it was found necessary to keep fires night and day
during the severe cold weather.

At the opening of the spring, the first business was
to prepare for sugar-making. The troughs for catching
the sap were made of the fir-tree, or birch-bark, which

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 9

the French and Indians used. The tenth of April was the
usual time for tapping the sugar-maple. The iron-ware
for boiling the sap, from the size of three barrels down
to two gallons, were brought into requisition for three
or four weeks, witli pipes and puncheons, that were
placed in due order near the kettles beside the camp, to
hold the sap.

In the morning, on the crust, the boj^s, with mocca-
sins and snow-shoes, a hand-sled and a deep tub, each
with two pails, commenced gathering the sap, which
was a laborious but not a hitter task, for the saccharine
came next, when each, with his spoon and dipper, p.ar-
took freely of the delicious candy, giving a deep ver-
milion hue to their glowing countenances.

They made, during the autumn, some improvement by
cleaiiiig the land for sowing about their cabins, which it
was found expedient to do as early as possible in the
spring, to secure a mature growth from the destruction
of untimely frosts, for the change is sudden from winter
to summer, consequently vegetation progresses with ra-
pidity and luxuriance.

In those seasons, wheat and other grains 3'ielded a
bountiful harvest. But inconvenience and expense at-
tending the grinding, rendered those crops of compara-
tively little value, there being no mills nearer than
Woodstock ; and at times they were obliged to go down
the St. John, fifteen or twenty miles below Woodstock,
tiaveling upon snow-shoes and hauling the grain on
handsleds. This may appear appalling to the reader,
but we state facts as they occuned, which we learn
from unquestionable authority. But the}' were not long
subject to this herculean task ; — the Yankee ingenuity
and versatile talents of Capt. Houlton soon put a hand-
mill in operation, which did their grinding, though prob-
ably not in all respects quite equal to New York man-
ufacture. .

lO HJSTORY OF HOULTON.

The condition of the first settlers must have been
gloomy indeed, but for the friendship of their British
neighbors ; yes, neighbors — although twelve miles dis-
tant, they acted the human part of the good "Samaritan,"
in their deeds of kindness and benevolence. Their doors
were opened to receive, and their hearts ever ready to
welcome them to their hospitable homes, rendering such
aid as their necessities required. Their trade and inter-
course for years were confined to his M:^jesty's subjects,
with whom they sustained the most friendly relation.

The pioneers of this infant colony were men of indus-
try and enterprise, who liad enjoyed advantages for in-
telligence beyond the general migratory class, who, when
they remove, seldom stop longer than barely to gain a
residence and then proceed to make other new improve-
ments for those of mere staid habits, of perseverance
and energy ; consequently possessing more of wealth,
character and influence.

In 1808, Capt. J. Houlton received an appointment to
the office of Register of Deeds for the northern district
of the County of Washington, by his Excellency's com-
mand, James Sullivan, Esq., Governor and commander-
in-chief of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

In 1809, Mr. Joshua Putnam and Phineas Stevens
left New Salem for Houlton. Mr. Warren Putnam, who
had been four years in trade at Woodstock, removed to
Houlton with his family, consisting of his wife, mother,
and four sons, viz : — Amos S., Jay, Lysander, Aaron
and an adopted son, Joseph Goodenough.

Mr. Putnam made a location of rare I'omantic beauty ;
surrounded as it is on the east, south and west by the
waters of the Meduxnakeag, the aboriginal name, but
which is now familiaily called creek. The north branch
empties in on the west, which contributes about one-third
to its waters. The elevated bank, which rises rather
abruptly, following the creek, upon which Mr. Putnam

HISTORY OF HOULTON. II

built a log house, affords a fine view of the opposite sur-
loundiug localities. Here the Indians frequently passed
up and down, with their bark canoes deeply laden with
their valuables, such as a variety- of game, " squaws "
and " papooses." Here, too, the wild ducks of various
species, played in the rippling current, practicing their
newly fledged broods, now diving beneath the limpid
element, then on their wings, whizzing through the
trackless ether, to seek some new seclusion.

It may appear to some that, at that time, the Prov-
ince of Maine must have presented some imaginary, as
well as real inducements, to the people of New Salem,
for their decided predilection and destiny it seems was
for Houlton, notwithstanding the tide of New England
emi2:ration was to the west.

In May, 1810, Messrs. Varney Pearce, Esq., Deacon
Samuel Kendall, Joshua Putnam, Ebenezer Warner,
of Springfield, Joshua G. Kendall, Jacob Haskell and
Putnam Shaw left New Salem for the Province of Maine.
They embarked at Boston, and, after a tedious passage
of several Aveeks, from the ceaseless rocking and pitching
of the vessel — being green hands just from the country,
they were all distressedly seasick ; poor souls, they must
have had rather a squally, squirming time of it, for
when they landed at the city of St. John, where they
tarried a short time, to their chagrin, they found they
had lost their center of gravity, so that on attempting
at locomotion they reeled, staggered and halted, more
like newly yoked pigs, than with the measured pace of
terra firma pedestrians. Mr. Amos Pearce and Simeon
Holden left New Salem a fortnight later than those who
came from Boston by water, and after a separation of
about five weeks, having traveled some 400 miles by
land, they arrived at Woodstock on the same day, which
must have been a remarkable coincidence.

During the summer Mr. A. Putnam built a mill-dam

12 HISTORY OF HOULTOX.

across the creek near his house, as before described. At
the western shore it was found difficult to obtain a per-
manent foundation upon which to build, and at the time
of freshet the water undermined and washed away
the bank and carried off the dam. In July the house
of Mr. Putnam was burned, with the clothing, beds,
lurniture and provision. The fire caught from a piece
of felled trees adjoining, of some 50 acres, which acci-
dentally took fire, and so terrible were the flames that
the family fled for refuge to the opposite shore of the
creek. Those misfortunes must have been severel}' felt
by Mr. Putnam and family, while they were striving to
estal)lish themselves with a new and permanent home ;
yet Mr. P. endured the losses and privations which he
sustained by those potent, antagonistic elements, with
that fortitude and forbearance which were characteristic
of him.

In the summer of 1811, Doct. Samuel Rice and Joshua
Putnam, with their families, accompanied by Samuel
Kendall, Jr., and Sarah his sister, removed from New
Salem to Houlton, thus adding" two families more Lo
this oasis of the forest, there being six, besides other
settlers, young' unmarried men, viz : — Samuel Houlton,
Joshua G. Kendall, Ebenezer Warner and Phineas Stev-
ens. These families were located upon both sides of
the road running nearly east and west, within a distance of
less than two miles ; and all busily engaged, building,
clearing away the forest, converting it into a beautiful
field. The crops of all kinds of grains and vegetables
were abundant. They planted but little corn, but what
they raised was of the best quality. Potatoes and ruta-
baga turnips were raised with facility and in abundance
from the newly cleared lands, and they were found to
be valuable for rearing stock, fattening beef and pork.
These vegetables Avere of great service, particularly be-
fore their improvements were sufficient for producing a

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 1 3

sii]iply of hay. Then potatoes were not subject to rust
and rot, as of late, neitlier was wheat liable to blicfht
or weevil, as now. Their only fears were of untimely
fiosts. They then raised, from three pecks of seed, more
than thirty-three bushels, or at the rate of one hundred
bushels from two and one-half bushels of seed, though
this was more than an averac^e crop, yet it proves tlie
genial adaptation of the newly cleared lands to the
growth of wheat which has until of late, been the staff
of bread for the country.

In the autumn, Joseph Houlton, Esq., built a mill-
dam, and erected a saw and flour mill beneath the same
roof, upon a small stream, which empties into the creek
near the village, as it now is, and in the meantime,
evenings, they ground at the hand-mill, to furnish bread
while building. Mr, A. Putnam rebuilt a dam and
erected a mill frame.

While amid their temporal cares and labors, it appears
they were not unmindful or indifferent to their spiritual
interests. The inhabitants, principally, having remained
as sheep witliout a shepherd, feeling a sense of their
destitution without the gospel ministry, were providen-
tially visited by the Rev. Edmund Eastman, jMissionary
from Limerick, whose services were gratefully received
and duly appreciated.

October 13, 1811, a church was embodied in the
Plantation of Houlton, by the name of the First Con-
gregational Church, in the Plantation of Houlton.

At the news of the declaration of war between the
United States anc^ Great Britain in 1812, of which the
inhabitants of Houlton were apprised on the fourth of
July, being panic struck, in view of their exposed situa-
tion, in the heart of the wilderness, surrounded by sav-
ages— on the morning of the fifth, Samuel Haskelb. a
visitor from New Salem, (who informed the writer,)
was dispatched as messenger to Woodstock to consult

14 HISTORY OF HOULTON,

some of tlie principal inhabitants of that place concern-
ing what could be clone to secure these defenceless^
families from insult and plunder by the Meductic tribe
of Indians. But before Mr. Haskell reached Woodstock
he met three Provincials on the wa}' to Houlton upon a
message of amity.

Soon after, George Morehouse, Esq., authorized b}^ the
Provincial government, came and informed the people of
Houlton that they might remain unmolested as in time
of peace, that the arms of the Indians had been se-
cured, and the inhabitants forbidden to sell them am-
munition ; the government was supplying them with
provision. Thus their defence was guaranteed, provided,
however, that the citizens of Houlton should neither
bear arms, aid nor assist in any military operation or
designs against His Majesty's subjects ; and in case of
any hostile movements on the line or in the viciuity of
Houlton, either fi-om the American government or by
the Indians, they were forthwith to notify the citizens
of New Brunswick thereof.

The above, though not in the phraseology of the orig-
inal document, yet amounts to the same, as nearly as
the writer can learn from verbal testimony.

The first sparse settlei's upon the banks of the St.
John were fearful of the Indians in both governments ;
and males from sixteen years of age and upwards, that
were able to bear arms, were furnished with them by
the government.

In the autumn of 1812, Samuel Wormwood left Al-
fred, Me., for Houlton — came via Ban^r, where he hired
an Indian with his bark to pilot him through. They
came up the Penobscot river and the Mattawamkeao-
where the Indian said he would direct him so as to
find the way alone ; that it was but a day's travel
from there to Houlton. Accordingly the Indian turned
back, leaving Mr. Wormwood with but one day's allow-

HISTORY OF HOULTON. I5

ance of provision, who stinted off with a ponderous
pack of joiner's tools npon hi^ back, proceeding Jis nearly
as he could by his directions, without guide or compass.
On leaving the stream he became bewildered, wandered
off, and was seven days in the forest, six of which he
subsisted upon the bark and roots he gatliered in the
Avoods. This was in October, exposed to the inclemency
of the weather, and the long, frosty nights, without fire
or shelter, day after day, wandering, forcing his lonely
way, frantic fiom anxiety, grief and despair ; no one
knows the number of miles he traveled to gain one in
the right direction, until he became so much exhausted
that he left his pack on a horseback, between a pond
and the creek, about seven miles from Houlton, and
crawled over the windfalls, followed the stream until he
finally reached Houlton almost dead. Dr. Rice, who
took him to his own house, found him so feeble that
he said, had he not arrived that evening, he must have
perished before morning. But with watchful care and
skill, allowing some simple liquids for a time, he at
length was restored. His clothes were all in tatters —
his feet were swollen, lacerated and lame, fiom his des-
perate efforts to gain his destination. His meager, ema-
ciated features and skeleton appearance, must have more
personified a ghost than a living man. After Mr. W.
became restored, Mr. Kendall accompanied him in search
for his pack, which they found, and, to their utter as-
tonishment, with some crumbs and dry crusts of biead
in the bottom of it. The poor sufferer became so be-
wildered, as to hf^ve lost all recollection of having a
morsel of food left, while starving for the want of it.
These facts the writer received from Mrs. A. Putnam,
the daughter of the subject of the narrative.

In this uncultivated state of the country tliere were
valuable tracts of timber land on both sides of the line,
which were attracting the attention of the adventurer to

1 6 HISTORY OF HOULTOX.

hazard his fortune in the lumber business, which has too
often proved unsuccessful 'to many poor fellows who
have failed irretrievably in that enterprise. Although
square pine timber was commanding a high price at St.
John and Miramichi, varj^ing fiom four to seven dollars
per ton, and sometimes more for the Norwa}" pine, yet
the expense for labor, teams and supplies, was so great
as to consume the amount obtained. Ha}^ delivered at
the camps cost from $20 to $00 per ton, oats and other
necessaries were in the same proportion ; nevertheless
this business was destined to become the stable of the
country, and created a demand for more labor than this
new country could then supply, and this, with the team
power which was required to clear off the heavy growth,,
to tlie development of the resources of this virgin soil,
called for horses and oxen, which were furnished from
the counties of Penobscot and Kennebec, by people from
Bangor and vicinity, viz : Messrs. Gordon, Holyoke,
Dudley, Webster, Bailey, and others, who came through
with droves, following up the Penobscot and Matta-
wamkeag rivers to within some twenty-five miles of
Houlton, thence following a spotted line through.

Those drovers made this trade in stock an object of
speculation. They not only understood, with Yankee
shrewdness how to buy and sell animals, but they soon
evinced not a little sagacity in the manner of transport-
ing goods, which they did by fastening packs upon the
neck and horns of the oxen, as well as upon the backs
of horses, which proved a successful device. Their
goods sold at a greater profit than the stock, and doub-
loons, 116 pieces, Avere as common and current as $5'
bills are now.

In 1813, Wm. Williams and his family removed from"
the Province of New Brunswick to Houlton, and settled
in that vicinity, and are esteemed as respectable, enter-'
prising inhabitants.

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 17

In the winter Joshua G. Kendall, Samuel Houlton,
Phineas Stevens and Jacob Haskell left Houlton for
New Salem, with packs of sable fur, which they bought
of the Indians. The snow deep and the weather ex-
tremely cold, without a guide, save a pocket compass,
they took their direction towards the Mattawamkeag,
witli their heavy packs and eight or ten days' provision,
traveling upon snow-shoes, to which they were unac-
customed, climbing over the fallen trees, dodging the
snow-loaded branches — their snow-shoes catching the un-
derwood and snags that obstructed their passage, pitch-
ing them lieadfirst — their moccasins losing foothold —
cast-bonded, tangled up, and for the loss of locomotive
power, thrust down their hands to keep their heads,
perchance, some way horizontal with their heels, lest
forsooth they should find themselves^ in rather a sad pre-
dicament, with their unwieldy packs wagging them first
one way and then the other, in the struggle to right
ship and cargo. Thus traveling twenty-five miles to tho
Mattawamkeag, they were all jaded out, Avhere they
sought fuel and camping. Suffering from fatigue and
cold, — fingers cramped and fireworks damp, — it Avas with
much effort they obtained fire. Their refuge for lodg-
ing was upon the snow, covered with layers of fir
boughs and pillows of the same, with a fire of logs, six
or eight feet long, and as many inches through, one
upon another, with a forestick supported by short cuts
for andirons, protected by no shelter but the forest.
After partaking of their homely fare, each with his
blanket wrapped around him, in real Indian style,
they lay themselves down in the fond embrace (»f
Morpheus.

Where they, in the shadowy moonlight slept.
The sparkling sentinels their vigils kept,
At early morn their dailj' task renewed,
Their journey onward, onward they pursued.

l8 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

After they arrived at Belfast, they shipped for Boston,
Avhence they soon reached New Salem,

Where sable fur a ready market won,
For muffs and tippets then were all the ton,
And those of large dimensions, too, were sought.
And ladies paid full well for all the}' bought.

The writer well recollects the facetions account they
gave of their rude effort upon sno'w-shoes, and their
traveling down the Mattawamkeag and Penobscot rivers
on the ice, of crossing the track of some wonderful
wild animal, where the creature leaped more than twenty
feet at a bound. If, while we relate this fact, we can
divest ourselves of the possibility of its reaching the
magnitude of a '' fish story," we must suppose that the
wilds of the Penobscot were once the home of the
panther.

The inhabitants of Houlton, retaininij the Puritan
character, duly estimating the advantages of early mental
culture, procured a room for a school, in the house of
Josepli Houlton, Esq., and employed Samuel Kendall,
Jr., for their teacher.

September 7, 1814, Dea. Samuel Kendall and family
left New Salem for Houlton, accompanied by Edwin
Town send. It being in time of war, we came by land,
witli wagons to Bangor. On our passage, in many places,
we met families removing from Maine, in wagons, drawn
l)y four and six oxen, plodding tlieir waj- patiently along,
where their heavy -loaded tean:is had beaten the roads, in
many sections, to one common bed of mortar ; all bound
for Ohio. Many of thein disposed of their property* at
great sacrifice, leaving their now fertile lands and com-
fortable homes, venturing their all upon the hazardous
enterprise, without even previously making a location.
So great was the rush then for Ohio, that the taverns
were crowded with emigrants, who on inquir\' learning
that we were bound for the eastward, their attention

HISTORY OF HOULTON. I9

was at once arrested, and the interrogatories to which
we were subjected, were marshaled with the scrutiny of
an inquisition. They exclaimed to us, '* You are wrong
— what ! going into the wilds of the interior of Maine ?
the very jumping off place of all creation !" After lis-
tening to their unqualified salutations, we must confess
we felt some twitching qualms of conscience that our
father did not accept the offer of his nephew, James
Prentiss of Boston, who said he would give him all the
land himself and sons would improve in the State of
Kentucky, if he would remove there ; but in the Provi-
dence of God, our destiny was in Aroostook. However,
not long after those families whom we met, reached their
destination in Ohio, we were credibly informed that
many were attacked with the fever, and sighed for the
salubrious air of New England ; yea, would have been
glad had they never left Maine.

But to pursue our journey, we sold our horses and
wagons at Bangor, where we arrived ten days atter it
was besieged by the British. The vessels then being-
built were burnt on the stocks, the buildings here and
there were perforated with grape-shot and shattered, the
academy windows broken, and the place, though but a
village, presented the habiliments of mourning. The
children, as if unconscious of their devastated homes,
were at play in the streets with the cannon balls.

At Old Town, twelve miles above Bangor, we hired
seven men, five of whom were Indians, with bark canoes,
to convey the family and goods, accompanied by Messrs.
Marshall and Butterfield, making nine loaded canoes, all
bound for the River St. John. We had what might be
called a social time. Camping out nights was a novel
thino; to us, and an Indian we had never seen before :
and they were rather frolicsome, though we gave them
no stimulant to- excite them. They were joking and
singing with the playfulness and innocence of children.

20 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

Young Peeopokl, of about 18 3^ears, gave a specimen of
the Indian dance, shaking his shot-horn and singing in
a vai'ied, gutteral tone, el-ba-took, took-take-take-moha,
repeating their (to us unmeaning) monosyllables, hopping
up and down, alternating on each foot, his body inclining
forward, with projecting elbows, which gave him a most
ludicrous appearance, until from this monotonous gam*
boliug, he became exhausted, then he would close his
fandango with hue-cha ! on a high key-note.

Old Mattannis was a brawny, clear-blooded Aboriginal
who, though not so much of a comedian, yet sustained
his part to admiration, while the other Indians appeared
equally to enjoy the comic repast. Peeopokl was distin-
guished for vivacity, intrepidity, symmetry of form and
manly beaut3\ He came in the same bark with the
waiter, and we believe the history of the same Peeopokl
has recently been published, whose life, if carried out as
commenced, must prove a fit subject for a romance. On
the first night after leaving Old Town, we stopped at
the honse of Samuel Wheeler, who received us kindly.
Our lodging consisted of a field bed, which covered the
floor, and somewhat crowded at that. In the morning
we pushed our heavy laden barks up the smooth water
of the Penobscot, taking our lunch at 12 o'clock, before
a fire which the Indians made for boilinof the tea : we
were soon under Avay with our pilot ahead, with sturdy
hands our paddles measured with equal pace, until the
sun cast the long shadow of the superb elm from the
island to the shore, which warned us to prepare for the
night; when we arrived at Mr. A. Haynes', whose se-
questered cabin stood a few rods from the river, as we
ascended its western bank, where we were cordially re-
ceived. After an early breakfast we left our hospitable
friends, who were the uppermost settlers on the river,
and worked our way a day's journey onward, where on
the eastern bank we landed our frail craft, and made our

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 21

1)ed of boughs before a cnickling fire, by which we, with
keen appetite, partook of our simple fare, and hiy down,
particularly bidding adieu to surrounding objects, Soninus
presiding over our motley group until the day star rose,
when with eager haste we prepared our frugal meal, of
which we all ate with thankful hearts, and loading our
canoes, we resumed our onward course. After a fatiguing
day, forcing our Avay against a strong current, we arrived
at what was called Gordon's Falls, on the Mattawam-
keag, where we stopped- for the night, under an old roof,
the rafters of which stood on the ground ; expecting to
find more atnple accommodations than where we had no
shelter, save the forest and the broad blue canopy of
heaven ; but to our utter disappointment, we were an-
no3'ed all night with nn-riads of insects, which, for the
time being- were as bad, or worse than the ten plagues
of Egypt. The next morning, after a sleepless, and, I
might say restless night, we poked our way along, follow-
ing the meanderings of the Mattawamkeag, every now
and then losing our whereabouts, from the perpetual
windings of the dead waters, but were delighted with
the beautv of the surroundino- scenerv, in the stillness
of a clear October moonliglit; the elm here and there,
Avith its bending top, though recently shorn of its foli-
age, still appeared as if planted by the hand of art; and
the banks elevated to secure the table-lands from freshet
tide, wdtli shrubbery enough to give it the appearance
of a tastefully cultivated garden ; where the autumnal
leaf in its golden hue, carpeted the spongy surface, and
fringed the alluvial shore. From the Mattawamkeag we
came to the Baskahegan, where at the falls we caught a
supply of the largest, fattest trout w^e ever saw. Whence
we followed the stream to the portage at the Schoodic
Lake, where w^e tarried for the night. It being late.
Old Mattannis went astray, and it was quite dark before
lie found the company. Being asked what he would

22 . HISTORY OF HOULTON.

have done had he not found the camp, he said, " Oh,
sjDOze me starve three days, then, eatum sable," as if by
that time nothing would come amiss. In the morning,
having carried our canoes and baggage to the western
shore, we launched our flotilla in the waters of the lim-
pid lake, which then, to us inlanders, appeared rather
oceanic. In the afternoon we encountered a squall that
beat against our frail bark, occasionally dashing over the
gunwale upon us ; at times we feared the boats would
fill and sink with their valuable freight, but we ventured
to follow our pilot, one after another in true Indian
file. It is astonishing to see with what dexterity the
Indians control their canoes, propelling them so steadily
and safely against the surging waves, and the whirling,
foaming current. From the lake we passed down Eel
river to the carrying place, as it is called, to the St.
John, where we were obliged to lug all our baggage
four or five miles, dodging along the windings of a
bridle path. After six weeks journeying through the
country, up the rivers and over lakes, we arrived at
Houlton, happy to see our old friends and neighbors,
who met us with afPectionate salutations. Truly thank-
ful were we to Him wlio guided our footsteps and led
us gently through this laborious, perilous journey, and
safely landed us at our long-sought, anticipated home.
In autumn, James U. Taylor and family removed
from the Province of New Brunswick to Houlton. In
the winter following Messrs. Carr and Carle, from Ken-
nebec, came to Houlton and built a flour-mill at the
dam of A. Putnam. Mr. Carr was a millwright and
vocalist, who taught school evenings, and was patron-
ized by the youth and adults. A primary school for
the common branches was taught by Samuel Kendall,
Jr., in an apartment of a large house built by Dr. S.
Rice. Messrs. Keed and Tilton of Kennebec, came to
Houlton where, for six months, they manufactured scythe

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 23

snaths, fitting the irons to the wood, for which they
found a ready market at Houlton, and in the Province,
at f 1,50 per stick.

In the summer of 1815 Joshua Putnam, 2d, a propri-
etor of Houlton, and Edmund. Cone, came from New
Salem to reside at Houlton. At this time, with the
exception of three families, the inhabitants of Houlton
consisted principally of Houltons and Putnaras ; if not
all of those names, they were connected by marriage.
Dea. S. Kendall and Dr. S. Rice married sisters, the
daughters of Joshua Putnam, Sr., who, with two broth-
ers, Amos and Ziel, were among the primitive inhabitants
of New Salem, and whose native place was Danvers,
Mass.

Here, for want of dates we depart from chronological
order. Samuel Cook, Esq., married Sally Houlton ; Eb-
enezer Warner married Polly Houlton ; Isaac Smith of
the Province of New Brunswick, married Lydia Houlton ;
Jesse Thompson of New Salem, married Louisa, daugh-
ter of Joseph and Sarah Houlton ; James Houlton mar-
ried Sally Haskell of New Salem ; Samuel Houlton
married Sarah Kendall; Joseph Houlton, Jr., married
Elmira Ray; Amos Putnam married Priscilla Worm-
wood ; Stillman J. Putnam married Betsey Broad ; Ly-
sander Putnam married widow Ruth Fall; Aaron Putnam,
Jr., married Maria Burleigh. From these and other
kindred marriages, descended a numerous offspring, to
the second and third generation, who at this day con-
stitute a considerable portion of the inhabitants of
Houlton, though some have, as must be expected, re-
moved to other States and territories, scattered from
Minnesota to Australia, which is but a miniature of the
common lot of Adam's posterity ; marrying and inter-
mingling in social alliance, as if to fulfill the destined
mission of disseminatino- lioht and knowledc^e universal,
which amicable intercourse is a prominent feature of the
long-prophesied millennium .

24 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

In 1816 the British and American Cammissionersv
Beauchet, Campbell, Johnson and Turner, with some
sixty men, came to survey the boundary line between
Maine and the Piovince of New Brunswick, according-
to the treaty of 1783, commencing at the monument at
the source of the St. Croix, running the line due north
to the highlands which separate the waters that flow
into the Atlantic, from those that empty into the St,
Lawrence. Having run the line some fifty miles from
the monument to Mars Hill, cutting an avenue sixteen
feet in width, twenty miles of the distance, the British
commissioners, Messrs. Beauchet and Campbell, con-
tended for Mars Hill as the said highlands, but Messrs.
Johnson & Turner non-concurred with them. They
erected a temporary observatory on Parks Hill, on the
east line of Houlton, where, with their theodolites and
instruments, they measured distances and altitudes.
The men were equipped with axes, knives, canteens and
knapsacks well stored. Houlton being their place of
rendezvous, having an excellent violinist and the choicest
liquors, v/hich at that time seemed indispensable to festive
entertainments, they occasionally met the citizens of
Houlton in friendly, social pastime, whose kind atten-
tions were reciprocated with cordial salutations by our
limited circle.

A young Indian invited a youth of Houlton to accom-
pany him on a hunting expedition. The young man,
pleased with this son of the forest, accepted the invita-
tion, delighted as he was with the prospect of such a
novel excursion ; with spirits buoyant with the anticipa-
tion of inexperienced youth, on a beautiful September
morning started off, with his Indian friend, for the hunt,
with the entire equipage for the outfit, with gun, hatchets,
knives, blankets, and provision. After a hard day's
tramp, with packs nearly as weighty as themselves, they
came to a stream which, for a distance was still water,

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 25

where they found it expedient to procure some water
craft to proceed. Finding it difficult to construct a raft
which tliey could propel up-stream, and far from the
growth of the birch, the bark of which canoes were
made, the next morning, after a night's lodging upon
the bank, listening to the music of the owls and mos-
quitos, with which, however, the Indian, too familiar,
lost no sleep, they found ?l large spruce which they
felled, and with Indian application and skill, peeled, off
the bark some fifteen feet in length, which, with cedar
si)lits and spruce roots for thread, they constructed a
thing which carried tliem over the smooth and rough
waters to the hunting ground. Before they reached this
place their miniature ark became leaky, from the shoal
places over which they hauled it, and their only remed}'
was to bail it out with a dipper, which was no desirable
pastime, while hunted by the flies and mosquitos. In
fact, this inexperienced youth, whose fair complexion and
tender skin was a rare bait for those bloodthirsty legions
to feast upon, was probably not aware that while on
this anticipated tour of pleasure, he would be game for
such a pestilential swarm of inslgnificants which neither
give or ask for quarter.

While paddling their rough, shapeless bark over the
still water which, mirror-like reflected the varied colors
of the trestled foliage, pendent from the bending tops,
which marked the irregular windings of the stream, they
proceeded slowly and. stealthily, lest they should frighten
the game, both on the land and water ; for the Indian
was so expert with the gun that he would shoot game
on the land, ducks on the wing or the water, while
upon his seat in that ticklish spruce.

The manner of takinQ* the beaver is with the utmost
cunning and caution. They set and fasten the traps
under water, near their only ingress and egress to their
houses. While setting them they are careful not to speak

26 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

a word, except to whisper, lest they be heard, and be
as expeditious as possible, lest they be seen ; atid where
they have trodden or handled anything they wash or
wet with water, to prevent their scenting them, for if
the}" discover any marks of the approach of man to
their houses, they forsake them at once. Beavers sepa-
rate in families by pairs, leaving the homestead for new
and favorable locations, for if they i-emain together until
they become numerous and crowded families, they, like
certain bipeds, grow churlish and quarrelsome, and not
imfrequently leave marks of violence which they inflict
npon each other. Upon separating for new homes they
seek places where, by building a dam, they can flow a
large surface for their sphere of operations and security;
building their houses of sticks, (the bark of which is
their food,) about a foot long, and from one to five
inches through, which they lay in a mixture of mud
and grass ; the Indians say their masonry is done with
their wide, flat tails. When their houses are finished,
being of various sizes, they resemble the form of a
haycock. The inside is divided into upper and lower
apartments, in order to suit the convenience of those
amphibious animals at high or low water, always making
their entrance under water, for safety from the approach
of enemies above.

Their flesh is excellent, when well prepared, but they
are seldom taken in a manner to bleed them properl}' ;
they are so exceedingly shy, the}^ are rarel}^ caught ex-
cepting in steel traps, which are so fastened as to drown
them. When in the winter the Indians find their dams,
they cut holes and drain off the water. Finding their
dams broken they venture out nights by families, on the
ice, to seek an asylum from the marauders. The Indians,
anticipating their removal, lie in ambush for them, but
when thus assaulted they often prove desperate antago-
nists, for if some are shot dead, others finding they can

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 27

make no escape, will turn upon their pursuers, and as
there ai'e generally a family or more together, they fight
a bloody battle. The Indians get badly wounded when
they slip and fall on the ice, as they sometimes do in
their encounter, for their broad, incisive teeth cut wher-
ever they take hold. Those that were taken in this
manner and well bled, the Indians sometimes brought to
Houlton, where they found a ready market. The tail
of a large, fat beaver is esteemed a luxury for an epi-
cure.

Sometimes they found families consisting of large and
sm.all beavers ; after catching the old ones they would
break their houses and take the little ones, bring them
to Houlton and give them to boys to domesticate and
sport with ; but the poor captives made such ado and
pined so for their dams, that the owners were glad to
release and trust tlVem to their native element.

But to return to our juvenile hunters who, for several
days, traveled the forest in pursuit of various kinds of
game, trapping the beaver, which was their principal
object, then left for home, pretty well bled by the flies,
and not a little fatigued from the jaunt, but proud of
the trophies of their chase.

The gnats, or, as the Indians call them, all-feel-em uo-
see-ems, black flies and m.osquitos, were a sore annoy-
ance to the first settlers, during the summer months.
They were obliged to make smokes in their door-yards,
two or three hours before night to drive them from their
houses and secure repose and sleep. The woodman,
while felling the trees, prepared cedar-bark smoke, in
the form of a cigar, about two feet long, fastened to
their hats, lighted at one end, which served as a porta-
ble defense against them. At dry times, when dangerous
to carry fire, they used fresh butter where most exposed
to their bites; the Indians applied bear's oil, which,
though offensive, was allowed the best protection. The

28 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

large horse-flies were so troublesome that it was not safe
to leave horses fastened so that they could not defend
themselves, except in the shade or stable. In pastures
where there was no shelter, people put up temporary
coverings to shield tliem from the heat of the sun, but
left open to the circulation of the air on every side.

During the heat of summer, the horses, cattle and
sheep w^ould feed in the cool of the morning, then flee
to those shades where they would remain till four or
five o'clock P. M. It was found expedient to make
smoke for the poor dumb beasts, to which they would
flee, as if by instinct, where they had no other protection
from those troublesome insects.

It is said there is nothing made in vain, but to finite
man many things appear quite irreconcilable, — yes, to
poor microscopic man, of few and evil days, of compli-
cate mechanism, a miracle to himself, doomed to death,
yet indestructible, naturally depraved, meeting in his
fellow his co-equal foe; prone to doubt his divine origin,
and, paradoxical to say, at war with his own constitu-
ent elements.

In 1816 the series of cold seasons commenced, when,
it was said, spots were discovered on the sun's disk.
Those frosty summers reduced the inhabitants to severe
privations. At Houlton it even snowed in June. Tlie
birds sought shelter wherever they could, but many died
of the cold. Wheat and other crops, except rye, w^ere
cut off by untimely frosts — potatoes were but half grown,
— wheat, our principal staff for bread, was so badly
smitten as to produce an unsavory odor to the olfactory
nerves, instead of ripening to the accustomed golden
harvest, and proving more than a remuneration for the
labor of falling and clearing of the forest. These were
trying times, — 3'ea, enough to produce despondence upon
the spirits of the most resolute and stout-hearted ; but
kind Providence, ever mindful of His dependent creatures,

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 29

did not leave us to perish with hunger. The creek,
which now wears the same channel and wuids it way,
<lividing the village, then abounded with salmon, that
were easily cauglit, (of which we shall say more here-
after,) and partridges were numerous and tame as do-
mestic fowls, and very good. The wild ducks, though
shy, were frequent captives of the hunter; and the sugar
maple, with which the forest abounds, contributed not a
little to our comfort and support, and yielded an ample
supply Qf sap, from which was made syrup, candy and
sugar of a pure, refiued quality, being wholesome, nutri-
tive and delicious. Cows that had no pasture, save the
woods, whicli furnished a supply of Solomon's seal and
adder tongue during the summer months, gave a pail of
milk at night and morning, from which were made one
pound of butter per day, and of good quality.

When rye flour sold at Woodstock for f 17 per barrel,
the inhabitants were obliged to adopt a simple regimen,
changing new milk to curd, mixing it with cream and
sugar, which was both nutritious and palatable, a good
substitute for custard. During the hard times, lumber-
ing, however delusive, absorbed the capital and con-
trolled the enterprise of the people of the countrv.
Eighteen inch shingles were three dollars per thou-
sand, boards ten and twelve dollars per thousand, and
hewed ton timber found competition at a high
price. From the signal failure of crops, the farmers, as
an alternative, changed their occupation for a time, and
became lumbermen, consequently their farms were neg-
lected.

Boards and shingles were run in rafts to Woodstock
and Fredericton, which \Aere their principal places of
market. Ten miles below Houlton there are falls where
thev unrafted. carrvino- the lumber some fiftv rods or
more over a rough path, dodging the trees, bouncing
against the roots and rocks. This Herculean labor was

30 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

necessarily performed in the spring and autupn during-
the time of a freshet.

An incident connected with this hazardous enterprise,
we think is here deserving a place. In November, a
young man and a boy of some 12 years started for
Woodstock on a raft of shino-les. ^ingf unaccustomed
to rafting and running shingles, when they arrived at
the falls, the}^ barely escaped going over, which, under
such circumstances, must have proved inevitable destruc-
tion, but with their utmost effort they landed the raft.
The next morning, having lugged their shingles over
the portage and rafted again, they pushed off for Wood-
stock ; they had gone but a short distance before the}^
ran upon a sand-bar. which tore the raft all to pieces,
the shingles floating at random — driven by wind and
current. Catching the ax, poles and packs, they jjufc
for the shore. Having made a raft of cedar, they floated
down to Woodstock, where they procured provision, a
bark canoe and a bottle of Jamaica, without which, in
those days, it would have been thought presumption,
exposed to the cold storms of November, to endure the
fatigue and hardship of raftmen. The next morning
those green hands, with their poles and paddles, worked
their passage up some five miles, the water freezing to
the poles, and the ballast light, so that a misstep would
upset the ticklish bark ; the current in many places deep
and strong, dashing alternately from shore to shore,
in their haste to reach the falls, the boy at the bow,
whose pole slipped from the ledgy bottom, falling on
the gunwale it capsized instantly, precipitating them both
head foremost into the cold stream of some eifjht or ten
feet of water ; the poor boy swam for life to the nearest
shore, but the ledges were so bluff, it was impossible,
for some distance, to get foot-hold. The other, with the
locomotive power of his legs and one hand, while with
the other he righted the canoe, securing the parapherna-

HISTORY OF HOULTON, 3 1

Ha of poles, paddles, and baggage, with great effort
swam to the shore some thirty rods below. Resuming
their places, with the greatest exertion to keep from
freezing, they pushed their treacherous bark three or
four miles, when they upset precisely as before, having
to clear for the shore where best they could. Well for
them that they were expert swimmers, otherwise they
must have drowned. Being soaking wet and nine miles
from inhabitants, fireworks, baggage, blankets all satu-
rated, and the little fellow, in his desperate effort to
reach the shore, lost off one shoe, it being more than
half a mile to their place of camping, provision entirely
wet, and, to cap the climax, the bottle sunken, they
were in a quandary about what to do, but finall}^ they
resolved to make another effort to gain the falls; if they
could find no fire there to walk the shore till morning
to keep from freezing to death, rather than abandon the
raft and return to Woodstock without accomplishing
their object. Proceeding with caution, they at last
reached the falls, with clothes stiff with frost, cold hands
and limbs and heavy hearts, but scon, to their infinite
joy, they discovered a blazing fire, a man having arrived
there that day and made provision for the night. Their
blankets dripping wet, and no covering but the canop}'
of Heaven there was consequently no sleep for them.
Placing themselves before a good fire, turning round
and round, smoking and steaming like old-fashioned
basted turkeys, until morning, when doubtless they,
with drooping heads, through the " keen demands of
appetite," partook of their water-soaked fare, after which
they proceeded to the task of collecting their fragment-
ary raft. Having succeeded and marketed the shingles
at Woodstock, they sUu.g their packs, which were blank-
ets tied at the extreme corners, containing various arti-
cles, to the amount of some thirty or forty pounds, and
trudired home, where thev told the sad storv, which.

32 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

though pitiful, yet extorted laughter from the facetious
guests, who, listening to the rehearsals of the duckings
they had, their desperate swimming efforts in the freez-
ing element, the loss of shoe and bottle, though not like
honest Gilpin, who broke both of his with loss of hat
and wiir, exclaimed, '' Such fellows were not reared in
the woods to be frightened at an owl or to quail before
a storm."

In the autumn Mr. Amos Putnam took a horse on a
raft of boards, to haul them by the falls. After they
arrived, having hauled the lumber, at night the horse
was turned to water, but suddenly disappeared. Search
was made, but without success. In the morning, tliey
renewed the search, but without success as before. The
animal being young and valuable, Mr. Putnam employed
several men, who were a week in pursuit of him, but
finally gave up the creature for lost.

On the 12th of February following, tliere were men
with teams passing down the creek, upon the ice, who
discovered the track of a horse, which they followed a
short distance and found the poor brute alive in the
woods, but reduced to a mere skeleton. This creature
had been from fall till Feb., suffering from the storms
of rain and snow, limited at last to a narrow beat of a
few rods, that he kept open by browsing, without water,
shelter or food, except what he gathered in the forest.
The poor animal was taken home on a sled, restored
and became a valuable servant for years after. The
above incident, we believe, surpasses all history of a
horse's endurance, — exposed to the severities of a winter
of hard frosts and deep snow in this high latitude.
Cattle have rambled off many miles from their summer
haunts and. been found alive, by lumbermen, late in
Avinter, but a horse never before, to my knowledge.

Lumbering, building mills, houses, clearing a little
here and there, planting, sowing, fishing, mowing, were

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 33

calling for lenewecl effort. J. Houlton, Esq., built a
flour mill on a stream near the north line of Houlton,
and Mr. A. Putnam got his mill in operation, which
accommodated the inhabitants of Houlton and the adja-
cent settlements. About this time, Mr. Samuel Morrison,
with a numerous family of sons and daughters, removed
from Limerick, to New Limerick, which joins Houlton
on the west, from which, at the time of burning their
felled trees, the smoke rose promiscuously, designating
the places of tlieir different locations, which, though
distant, bore a social aspect, changing their solitary
waste to cultivated farms. It were unnatuial, ungrate-
ful to dissociate those pioneers of this vast desert from
a fraternal co-partnership in this common, indispensable,
yea, noble work of converting the wilderness to fruitful
fields, and of carrying civiliziition and competency to
the gloomy abodes of povert}' and ignorance, and asso-
ciating the progress of morality, science and religion
with the school-house, the seminary, and the temple for
the worship of God. With the prosperity of these, is
identified the perfectibility of our race, fulfilling our
mission on earth, with a well-grounded hope of a bliss-
ful immortality beyond the grave.

■ There are two lakes, called the Limerick lakes, of
about three miles in length, averaging half a mile in
width. Upon the thoroughfai'e between the lakes there
is a saw-mill, the property of Mr. Moses Drew, some
nine miles from the village of Houlton, and a valuable
quarry of limestone, where are two kilns, from which
Houlton and the adjacent country are supplied with
lime. The eastern lake is separated from the west
branch of the Meduxnakeag by a swell of land, running
nearly east and west, upon which those families settled,
presenting a romantic view of the lake on the south,
and the more remote settlement at the north. Those
lakes afforded many pleasure excursions, sometimes on

34

HISTORY OF HOULTON.

rafts, in log canoes or skiffs, frequently combining pas-
time with fishing, which was found expedient in those
days of all work.

There were valuable fish in those lakes, but the salmon
of the creek were valued as the wealth of the waters.
The mill-dams were beginning to obstruct their passage
up, but they were so persevering to press their way
over the falls and dams, that where there was no sluice
or fish-ways made for them, they would run against the
water-wheels while tlie mills were in operation, which
would kill them instantly. While striving to ascend the
falls, they are sometimes forced back against the rocks
by the impetuosity of the dashing elements, as to wound
them severely ; for they have often been caught with the
scars of bruises which they doubtless received from the
rocks and ledges. When hunted, they evince a great
sagacity on being wounded, trying every nook and hole
to secrete themselves from their pursuers, but when
deadly w^ounded by the spear, if they escape, the eels
find them, as if by instinct, commencing at the wound,
eating their way until they devour all but skin and bones.
When sought by the spearmen, with their canoe and
jack-light of bark or pitch-wood, with nets above and
below those salmon holes, finding themselves in circum-
scribed limits, and tired from the chase, they will fall
captives almost without resistance to their unrelenting
foes. To escape the eye of the fish-hawk and eagle,
they lie in deep water among the rocks, except at night
or at high water, when they venture up the shoals and
rapids. How marked is the hand of that universal Prov-
idence, thus to send the .scaly treasures of the deep to
force their way up the rivers and streams to suppl}^ the
necessities of the remote and destitute creatures of His
care ; though hunted by their pursuers with nets and
spears, on their passage up, yet the progress of those
that escape is onward and upward ; overcoming all ob-

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 35

stacles, until faithful to their progeny, they leave their
spawn, after which they become poor and comparatively
worthless, and return with the floating current to their
oceanic retreat, bevond the reach of voracious man, there
to be nourished and restored, but again, at the opening
of the spring, when the rivers burst their ice-bound fet-
ters, to perform their annual accustomed tour.

In 1817 Houlton was visited by speculators from Ban-
gor, who came with goods, among whom were Wood &
Bradbury, and sold boots, shoes, tea, tobacco, cotton
cloth and some other articles to the inhabitants of
Houlton, making ample profits, though the difficulty and
expense attending transportation must have been con-
siderable, as packs, carried on their backs, was the man-
ner of conveyance. l.J_ #00 429

Our infant colony, consisting of all ages, with the
foreign settlers, began to extend the settlement, and
amonof our social iiatherinos mioht be seen the sjrav locks
that shaded the temples of more than four-score years,
together with the middle-aged, and the peach down of
infancy. The eldest among us was Mrs. Lydia Putnam,
a distinguished female, one of the pioneers of two set-
tlements, claiming a residence with the primitive inhab-
itants of New Salem.

An incident connected with her early life, we think
is deserving of a place here. At a time, in absence of
her husband. Bruin came in quest of game ; finding
naught but a swine in a pen a few steps from the door,
made an assault upon the poor prisoner, which raised a
bitter outcry at the salutation of his unwelcome guest.
The young matron, hearing the alarm, from the impulse
of the moment, seized her husband's gun, which not
being charged, resorted to the next efficient weapon for
aggressive warfare, the pitchfork, with which she made
a threatening onset, until old Bruin, rising upon his hind
feet, looked between his paws, with a horrid grin, as if

36 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

to stand the challenge of his armed assailant, but be-
twixt the cquealing of the one, and the persistent ad-
vances and threats of the other, absconded, leaving his
captive and his courageous adversary to claim the honor
of triumph and be entertained with his own music. An
alarm being given, the laborers leffc the field in pursuit?
and after a chase of a mile or more in the woods, con-
quered him. But that fearless woman evinced the spirit
of a heroine and a presence of mind peculiar to herself,
which saved the poor captive from falling a prey to the
voracity of his huge antagonist. Mrs. Lydia was the
widow of Amos Putnam, Sr., of New Salem, and left
there with her son Aaron, in 1805, and in 1809 removed
from Woodstock to Houlton, iis before mentioned. Va-
rying from the chronology of events, we will here notice
her decease, which occurred at the residence of her son-
in-law, Joseph Houlton, Esq., April 8, 1820, after a
short illness, peculiar to the decrepitude of four score and
seven years. Mrs. Putnam was a member of the Con-
gregational church in New Salem, from which it appears
she never withdrew her connection. Possessing a char-
acter of industry, energy and perseverance, united with
experience, qualified her for a sphere of usefulness pe-
culiaiiy adapted to her situation, as doctress in Houlton
and in the Province, there being no physician then
above Fredericton, excepting Doctor Rice. She never
refused when called upon to go the distance of five or
ten miles, at wliatever season of the year. Hers was
emphatically a life of activity and usefulness, down to
a good old age, and her death was lamented by numer-
ous relatives and an extensive circle of friends and ac-
quaintances.

From the efficient aid of the Rev. Mr. Harding, we
were favored with the missionary labor of the Rev. Seth
E. Winslow, of Barre, Mass., and as a testimonj^ of the
deep interest which those few families then evinced upon

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 37

the subject of their spiritual welfare, we will refer the
reader to the following records :

At a meeting of the church, Sept. 20, 1818, Samuel
Cook, having been propounded as candidate for a mem-
ber of the First Conqreoational Churcli in Houlton
Plantation, was received into the church in due form.

Baptized by Rev. Seth E. Winslow, Sept. 27, 1818: —
Elizabeth Ann and Samuel Dwight, children of Samuel
and Betsy Rice ; Elizabeth Hanley, an adopted daughter
of Samuel and Betsy Rice ; Aaron Randolph, son of
Aaron and Isa Putnam ; Franklin and Harriet, children
of Joshua and Betsey Putnam ; Harrison and Lyman,
children of James and Sally Houlton ; James and Lydia,
children of Samuel and Sally Cook; Mary, Joseph and
Fanny, childen of Ebenezer and Polly Warner ; Priscilla
Emerson, daughter of Samuel and Sally Wormwood ;
Joseph Broadstreet, Samuel. Nathan, Thomas, Elizabeth
and Jonathan, children of Samuel Parks and his wife,
members of a Baptist Church.

At a meeting of the inhabitants of the Plantation of
Houlton, Oct. 10, 1818, the First Congregational Church
in said Houlton, with others present.

Voted, That they give the Rev. Seth E. Winslow an
invitation to settle with them and labor amoncr them in
the gospel ministry.

Voted, That the sum of four hundred dollars be raised
and paid to said Winslow annually, as his stated salary.

Nov. 1, 1818, Eleazer Packard, William Williams and
Sarah Kendall were received in the usual form, as mem-
bers of the First Con^resrational Churcli in Houlton
Plantation. Baptized by the Rev. Seth E. Winslow : —
Thomas Painter and Rhoda Caroline, children of Eleazer
and Ruth Packard ; Ruth, Maria and Nathan Holden,
children of Eleazer and Lucinda Packard.

In presence of the congregation, Mr. Amos Putnam
was married to Miss Priscilla F. Wormwood.

;^S HISTORY OF HOULTOXr

It appears that the Rev. Mr. Wmslow was . faithful in
the discharge of the duties of bis mission, and that his
efforts were duly appreciated by the church and inhab-
itants of Houlton, as the reader may learn from the
subjoined letter of Deacon Samuel Kendall:

'' Houlton Plantation, Nov. 25, 1818.

Mev. Alpheus Harding — Dear Sir : — I am requested by
the church of Christ and other inhabitants of the Plan-
tation of Houlton, so called, to present through you, as
being the proper organ of communication to the Massa-
chusetts Evangelical Missionary Society, you being one
of the executive committee of said society, and also the
one by whom Mr. Winslow received his commission,
their highest sense of the obligations they are under to
said society, for their liberal donation, and happy choice
in the missionary employed ; and as a token of their
grateful acknowledgment for the favor received by the
friendl}^ aid of said society, they have collected and
committed to the charge of Mr. Winslow $80, to be
transmitted to said society, to be disposed of by them
at their discretion, for the use of the gospel ministry.

They feel their inability to express their gratitude for
the services of the missionary who came to them by the
means of your benefaction, whose indefatigable labors of
love among them for nearly three months past, by
preaching the gospel, administering the ordinances of
baptism and the Lord's Supper, and the truly kind, ten-
der and affectionate manner of his instructing their
children and youth, have excited in their breasts the
warmest emotions of gratitude to him for the unwearied
pains he hath taken witli them. They deem it a priva-
tion to think of a separation, even until next summer.
Should your society still think us objects of your further
charity, (as we verily feel ourselves to be,) and could
consistently render us that aid wliich would enable us.

HISTORY OF HOULTON, 39

"With our own efforts, to sustain a pastor, we would in-
dulge the hope that Mr. VVinslow will be prevailed with
to settle in the ministry in this place. He has given
universal satisfaction, both in his private visits and pub-
lic performances."

The writer, having no further records of ecclesiastical
history until 1833, aside from the correspondence of Mr.
Winslow and Rev. Mr. Harding with Deacon S. Kendall,
in behalf of the church and inhabitants of the place,
deems it a duty devolving upon him to copy extracts
fi'om those letters which are inseparably connected with
this narrative, and will be read with interest by those
who have witnessed the changes and vicissitudes of this
little oasis of the desert.

From the correspondence of the Rev. Mr. Winslow
with the church^ and people of Houlton, we take the
folio win or extracts :

Sterling, May 11, 1819.

Bear Sir : — You being deacon of the little flock of
Christ, and as a father among the people of Houlton
Plantation, I would address this letter to you, and
til rough you to all those to whom I lately ministered,
and for whom I shall ever entertain a firm friendship and
affectionate remembrance. I need not recount the kind-
ness and attention I received while among you, and from
those who accompanied me homeward, which endeared
you all to my heart ; nor need I advert to what was
still more encouraging, the reception of the word I
preached among j^ou — the joining of some to the body
of Christ, and, as I trnst, a spiritual union of others to
him. Suffice it for me to say, that you were the object
of my desire, and if it had been, and should appear to
be my duty, I would live and die in 3'our service. * *
Nevertheless, there are man}' reasons which will offer
themselves to vour consideration; such as the disadvan-

40 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

tages of education — -the want of ministerial aid and in-
tercourse, &c., which strengthen my conviction that it
is not my duty to accept your offer made. Having de-
liberately examined the subject, and consulted judicious
friends, who are in the ministry ; moved by strong feel-
ings in your interests, I have prayerfully submitted the
case to God, for His direction, and find myself at last con-
strained to say, however unwelcome it may be to the
people of Houlton, that it is my dut}^ to remain where I
am. * * but that in due time God will send to your relief,
one who shall be adapted to the station, and become a father
in Christ to the children and youth, and a guide and
instructor to all in spiritual and divine things. * *

In 1819, Mr. Joseph Jones, formerly of Falmouth,
Me., removed from the Province of New Brunswick to
Houlton, with a numerous family, who married and set-
tled in Houlton and vicinity. This family were re-
markable for their taste and talent for music, both vocal
and instrumental, and when together constituted a choir
of themselves.

But Death, that insatiate archer, with his quiver of
arrows, has laid them low, one by one, until their chi)ir
on earth is broken, and several of their places are made
vacant.

The inhabitants of Houlton were disappointed when
the Rev. Mr. Wiiislow declined accepting their invita-
tion to settle among them as their pastor, as the reader
may infer from the foregoing extracts. ,

Durino- Mr. Winslow's mission, the inhabitants met
for worship in a hall, in the dwelling-house of J. Houlton,
Esq., which was spacious enough to convene the people
of Houlton and our neii^hbors in the Province who
united with us. This was an appropriate time, as it
was esteemed to be, for devout praise and thanksgiving,
and one long to be cherished among the most pleasing
and profitable retrospections of that little flock, who had

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 4^

formerly enjoyed the blessings of the preached gospel
under the pious instruction of our venerable friend, the
Rev. Alpheiis Harding, who ever evinced a deep and
lively interest, both for the temporal and spiritual wel-
fare of this branch of his former church and congrega-
tion.

After Mr. Wiiish^w left, agreeable to his request, the
inhabitants did not forsake assembling together on the
Sabbath, for the social worship of Him who vouchsafes
to bestow His spirit in answer to the fervent prayer of
his faithful, believing followers; irrespective of place or
circumstances, either in the lowly cottage, the retired
closet, or the solitary desert. His worshippers are not
confined to Jerusalem to pay their homage, nor their
devotions alone —

In the gorgeous walls of the cathedral,

Beneath the vaulted arch and towering spire,

Where the organ's pealing notes in concert swell,
To chant the songs of praise with vocal choir.

As there were no records at that time, except the
before-mentioned correspondence, we are happy to find
the following letter among others preserved as a precious
memorial of the past :

New Salem, May 9, 1820.

My Dear Sir : — In behalf of the brethren of the church
of Christ, in this town, I have a few things to commu-
nicate to the church of Ciirist in Houlton Plantation;
and a§ you were long a member and officer of this
church, and probably the oldest member there, I have
thought to make you the organ of communication.

We heard that the church in Houlton Plantation was
destitute of furniture suitable for the communion table :
and as we are about to make some addition to the fur-
niture we now have, the brethren have thought fit to
make a present of a part of the service now belonging
to this church. We shall send by the bearer, Mr. Amos

42 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

Putnam, two of the tankards which you used in com-
memorating the sufferings and death of our dear Re-
deemer, in this place. We give those as a pledge that
we are still mindful of you, though far separated from
us, and though they are of but little pecuniary value,
yet being the vessels we have so often used on that solemn
occasion, (and I trust I may add, in the unity of the
spirit, and in tlie bond of peace, mutually loving one
another, and desirous of one another's spiritual good,)
we trust you will receive them as the strong pledge of
our continued love, and as one of tlie strongest tokens
of our earnest desire for your growth in grace, and in
the knowledgce of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Those vessels, when you use them, and as often as you
see them, will call to 3'our remembrance former days ;
and we pray the time may not be far distant, when you
may again use them in the solemn service of the Lord,
with all that mutual affection which the members of the
same body ought to exercise towards one another, and
with that sincere love of the brethren which the Apostle
tells us, is the strongest of love to God. * * * *
Brethren and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God
is, that you may be blessed in your temporal and spirtual
concerns, — that you may live in love and peace, and that
the (xod of love and peace may be with you.

With these sentiments and feelings, I subscribe myself

your servant in the Lord,

Alpheus Harding,

The above extract needs no comment, as a true por-
traiture of the feelino^s and desires which were enter-
tained and cherished by the Rev. Mr. Harding, and the
members of the church in New Salem towards the scat-
tered sheep, who were, and had been for years, in the
wilderness without a shepherd.

Mr. Amos Putnam, of New Salem, was accompanied
by Messrs. Amos and Abraham Pearce, sons of Varney

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 43

Pearce, Esq., of New Salein, who, for many years repre-
sented that town in the Lecrislature of Mass., and was
one of the most useful and influential citizens in that
town, and was highly esteemed for his public services
and private chaiacter, as a gentleman of strict integrity
and moral worth. Those brothers, possessing a proprie-
tary share in the half township, settled under favorable
circumstances, and made valuable improvements.

Feb. 7, 1821, a society was organized b}' the name of
Instructive Companies, the object of which was moral
and literary improvement. The members were as fol-
lows : Samuel Kendall, Jr., Romaine L. Putnam, Joshua
G. Kendall, Edwin Townsend, Edmund Coan, Stern
Putnam, Jacob Harward, and Joseph Kendall. They
were constitutionally bound to meet every Thursday
evening from September to March. During the summer
they were to meet the last Thursday in each month.
This might be considered as a small beginning, neverthe-
less there was an apparent improvement in the seveial
compositions of the members during the operation of the
society ; but soon our President removed to Woodstock,
where he rendered himself useful as a teacher, and this
society lost its organization. The crowding cares and
duties inseparably connected with our laborious situation
soon proved that our life did not consij^t in the rhyme
and measure of poetry. Falling trees, chopping the
logs and piling them together, burning and clearing off
the brands, was no mere fancy work for delicate hands
and frilled bosoms ; still the farmer, perhaps, realizes as
much satisfaction and enjoyment as the literary and pro-
fessional classes of men whose cares and duties are usu-
ally augmented by their increased responsibilities, if
conscientious in the discharge of their obligations, while
the husbandman engages in his vocation, preparing the
prolific soil, in the opening spring sowing the variety
of seed, planting fruit trees, cultivating the garden.

44 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

unitino: the esculent with the ovnameiitiil, looking for-
ward, anticipating an ample remuneration for his labor ;
daily witnessing the progress of vegetation, from the
tender blade to the ear, then the full corn and ripe
fruit ; and then comes the autumnal gathering.

" Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield,
Their farrow oft the stubborn glebe has broke ;

How jocund did they drive their team afield,
How bowed the w^ood beneath their sturdy stroke.

Let not ambition mock their useful toil,

Their homely joys, and destiny obscure;
Nor grandeur hear wich a disdainful smile, ■ ^^'^

The short and simple annals of the poor:" " .

The writer, conforming to dates, in chronological order,
must submit to many abrupt transitions, from tlie moral,
sentimental and religious, to secular occurrences of
business life.

In the summer, Ebenezer Warner built a mill-dam
and saw-mill near his residence at the falls of the south
branch of the creek, it being a valuable privilege, two
miles above A. Putnam's mill, at the village.

In 1821, Mr. Timothy Frisbie, formerly from Frye-
burg, Me., removed to Houlton from the Province of
N. B., where he was, by death, bereaved of an affection-
ate companion, leaving a husband and family of sons
and daughters to mourn their irreparable loss. The fam-
ily of Mr. Frisbie now constitute a portion of the most
influential and enterprising inhabitants of Houlton and
vicinity where they are settled.

' In July Mr. Holman Gary, Thomas Shaw^ and Haskell
Gary left New Salem for Houlton, to visit their friends
and see the country.

In 1822, Deacon James Russell and family removed
from Bloomfield to Houlton, where they resided a short
time, then removed to Monticello, but soon after returned
to Houlton, where they remained until the decease of
Deacon Russell, whom we shall have occasion to mention
more particularly hereafter.

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 45

The inhabitants of Houlton, still soliciting missionary
uid, the Rev. Mr. Harding replies in answer to their coni-
munication, as follows :

New Salem, Feb. 16, 1822.

Your letter, dated Dec. 29, past, favored by Esquiie
Houlton, I have received, and read with much interest.
I am very sensible, dear sir, of the unpleasant situation
in which you are placed, in regard to Christian privi-
leges and ordinances ; and have no doubt your situation
will meet the sympathy of the Evangelical Missionary
Society. Agreeably to the request of tlie inhabitants,
expressed by you, as their agent, I will present your
situation before the executive committee of that society.
* * I do not know the exact state of the funds at the
present time, nor whether they will be able to send a mis-
sionary the present year. If they should, I will exert
my influence to have one who shall not only have the
common qualifications of a missionary in a teacher of
religion, but one who may be peculiarly qualified for
your particular situation ; one who will seek for the pro-
motion and prosperity of the people, in a temporal as
well as spiritual view. What you intimate in your letter
about my visiting you, has been a subject of conversa-
tion between Esquire Pearce, Col. Putnam and myself,
before receiving your letter, and we had come to the
conclusion to visit your plantation in company, when a
road should be made passable from Bangor there. But,
dear sir, you are sensible that such an agreement could
not have been made without some preliminary conditions.
These conditions were so numerous that I hardly dare
promise myself the pleasure of such a visit. The prin-
cipal conditions on my part were, the health of my fam-
ily and the situation, of the parish. * * * Should
health be restored in my family, or so far restored that
duty would not demand my particular attention at home,
and the circumstances of the narisli be such as in tlie

46 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

view of judicious members of the church and society

would warrant an absence of three or four months, I

shall fulfil my engagements with Esquire Penrce and

Colonel Putnam, and with them visit you in the course

of a year or two, or as soon as a road slutU be passable

from Bangor to Houlton Plantation. * * *

I remain, as always, your constant friend and devoted

servant in our common Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Alpheus Harding.
. Dea. Samuel Kendall.

We presume our estimable friend did not then anticipate
seeing the day when he could take a passage on the
rail car from Bangor to Oldtown, thence up the river,
nearly half the distance to Houlton, on board the steam-
boat; or of a railroad so far in progress, on the same
route ; nor Avhen the people of this county would be
looking to the time not far distant, when the iron
horse, with his shrill neigh, warning his approach, would
come laden to exchange commodities for the products of
Aroostook. We rejoice that Maine is not without her
distinguished sons, who possess policy, forecast and acu-
men, whose influence and talents are arrayed with the
wisdom and experience of successful advocates upon the
subject of this noble ei.terprise, and we hope, ere long,
Maine will prove her efficiency, by engaging more fully
in this contemplated gigantic work of philanthrop3%
which will open an avenue to north-eastern Maine for
the encouragement and signal benefit of an increasing
population, of a hardy, stalwart _yeomanry, possessing in-
dustry, enterprise and intelligence, who will develop the
resources of this extensive domain, converting the forest
to "fruitful fields," when the hills and valleys shall
echo with the bleating of flocks and lowing of herds.
Such a people may be denominated the bone and sinew
of a nation — yea, constitute the safeguard and stability
of a republic.

HISTORY OF HOULTCN. 47

We congratulate our Britisli neiglibors in the prospect,
ere long, of the completion of the St. Andrews railroad,
up to the latitude of Woodstock and Houlton, and in
longitude nearly equi-distant between the two places.

In March, 1822, Moses White, Esq., and Jason Cuni-
mings, being apprised of the exorbitant prices of various
articles of trade at Houlton and in the Province, left
Bangor with a load of goods, which they conveyed with
a horse-team upon the ice up the Penobscot and Matta-
wamkeag rivers, from thence they hauled them on to-
boggins, as the Indians call them, a sort of sled with
one runner, made of birch-bark, a foot or eighteen inclies
wide, and about six feet long. Finding their fireworks
damp, their only alternative was to camp without fire,
which must have been rather a cool bertli for them at
that season, and though the}' removed the snow with a
shovel, for a place to lie, yet they were without shelter,
save the woods, with each a blanket in which to en-
velop himself, the}' lay themselves down upon their
bed of boughs, if not to the embrace of somnus and de-
lectable dreams, at least with the forlorn prospect of
suffering endurance till morning, which must have been
admirably verified. After breakfasting upon their frozen
fare and cold beverage, they traveled through to Houlton,
where they sold their goods at advanced prices for fur,
which was then an object of speculation.

There having been grants of townships in this new
section of country, to several institutions, the attention
of capitalists was attracted eastward, Avith a view of
speculating in wild lands. But with some it proved an
unfortunate enterprise. Nathaniel Ingersoll, Esq., of
New Gloucester, having an interest in Williams College
Grant to the amount of §6500, and in Westford Academy
Grant of §3500, frequently visited Houlton, with a view
ultimately, of an advantageous sale, which, at the time
of his purchase, might have been considered, at least, a

48 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

safe investment. But the tide of emigration, continued
westward, and those lands remained in their primeval
state, notwithstanding all the inducements which could
reasonably be offered to settlers by proprietors at tliat
time, consequently this venerable gentleman sacrificed
18,000 of $10,000 invested in those two grants.

Doctor Samuel Rice, after a residence of twelve years
at Houlton, having been our physician, and improved
from a forest state a valuable farm, with good buildings,
removed to Woodstock, where his practice was greatly
increased, but much to the inconvenience of the people
of Houlton and vicinity. The absence of himself and
family made a great void in our society. They were
highly esteemed, and by his removal the inhabitants
sustained the loss of a valuable physician, citizen and
friend. Prior to his removal from New Salem, he was
the most popular physician of that town, and during
his residence at Houlton he had an extensive practice —
receiving frequent calls from the Province, of from ten
to fifty miles distant, with which he complied at all
seasons, however inclement the weather, or unfavorable
the circumstances, and was conscientious in his charges.

Durinof the summer Messrs. James and Peleo- Lander,
sons of Thomas Lander, of Fairfield, came to Houlton,
where they became residents. ^

In the winter, Messrs. Wadleigh, Ayer and Stinson
came from Bangor with several loads of goods, hauled
by. horses harnessed one before the other, following the
Penobscot, Mattawamkeag, and Baskahegan upon the
ice, from thence making the shortest transit to Houlton,
that being the depot for those forest merchants. Their
goods being subject to high duties, the people from the
Province came there for various articles.

At that time Houlton began to bear the appearance
of a sort of miniature forest market. Those speculators
increased their stock, as well they might, where goods

HISTORY OF HOULTON.: 49

sold at such exorlntant prices. The reader must either
suppose that money was very pleiit}^ or of but little
value, or that thick, cowhide boots were a scarce article,
to command the California price of nine dollars a pair,
which has l)een paid for those brought to Houlton. No
woi^der that 3T)ung men of enterprise, engaged in the
transportation of goods through the woods, as it was
called, from Bangor to Houlton, even though they had
to travel on the ice of those serpentine streams, driving
their horses tandem upon a zigzag path for many miles
in the woods to their place of destination, for their tav-
ern bills for entertainment, at that time, from Bangor to
Houlton, must have been rather small.

They, o'er the ice bound, fettered streams,

Pursued their journey, long and cold ;
While sparkling snow in sunlight gleamed,

Their treasures in the forest sold.

The long winter evenings were occupied by the youth
in the social and improving study and practice of vocal
music, who were instructed by Mr. Putnam Shaw, who
also taught day school in the usual branches, in both of
which he received a liberal patronage.
• In the spring of 1828, Mr. Holman Cary and family
removed from New Salem to Houlton, and were greeted
with a cordial welcome by their former acquaintances
iind friends, as an acquisition to our little circle, which
had drawn on the old Bay State, principally for what
they then were. In the autumn, James and Peleg Lander,
having purchased the mill of Aaron Putnam which was
built in 1810, removed it and erected a new saw mill
upon the same site, which proved valuable property, —
pine timber being abundant, and commanding a high
price at the principal markets. Mr. Joseph Stevens and
family removed from Fredericton, N. B., to Houlton,
where they resided. Mr. Stevens was esteemed as an
active, useful artisan.

50 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

Ill October, 1824, Moses White, Esq., left Houlton
for Winthrop, accompanied to Bangor by Amos Putnam,
Jacob Haskell and Joseph Kendall, who were bound for
New Salem, their native place. On our arrival there,
we could but exclaim, '' What a change even ten years
have made in that place ! " The youth had grown ,up ;
many had removed, and otliers died ; but there stood
the old meeting-house, with its "■ church-going bell,"
which had so long marked the time for gathering the
worshipping assembly, who softly trod the " long drawn
aisle " to their respective pews, Avith button doors and
seats which, with hinges, rise and fall ; the spacious
gallery, with its new choir, whose voices resounding
" praise divine," — and more than all, the pulpit, with its
former occupant, whose familiar voice was melody to the
ears of his long absent auditors, from whose lips they
early received wise and judicious instruction and admo-
nition, which are ineffaceably impressed upon our mem-
ories, as are his venerable form and features. There, in
the cemetery, stands the monuments of the departed,
with the moss-grown epitaphs over the graves of our
revered ancestors, which remind us of the destiny of all
succeeding generations. A few rods distant stands the
house of our birth-place, where the light first dawned
upon our "infant vision." The garden, too, with its
stone-wall enclosure, and its choice fruit trees, which
through our chamber windows used to cast their shadows
in the radiance of the morning sun-beams, — these were
not all there ; the corrodings of time had lessened their
number and marred their beauty, and the tall pear tree,
divested of its verdure and robbed of its golden treas-
ure, stood near, and the orchard at the north, which
produced its variety of specific fruit, where, for the
celebration of the anniversary of our Nation's brithday,
the people assembled beneath its shade, seated around
the long spread table, loaded with delicious viands. At

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 5I

the head were the clerofyman and the Hon. Samuel C.
Allen, who announced the patriotic toasts which were
signalized by the repeated roar of the old cannon. But
the ruthless hand of Time seems to sugfoest to us the inter-
ogatory of where are now those guests who met on that
joyful festival, — that devoted band of patriots and philan-
thropists, whose bosoms then glowed with love to God and
man ? How few there are left whose mortal remains
have not long slept in the narrow house, but whose
spirits have flown to their ultimate reward.

" Can storied urn or animated bust

Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ?

Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust.
Or flattery soothe the dull cold ear of death ?

Perhaps in that neglected spot is laid
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire ;

Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed,
Or waked to ecstacy the living Ij^e."

The grave, that cannibal of flesh, has gorged its
millions, yet wiser, if not better, each succeeding gen-
eration grows, and onward is the motto of the present
age ; and what will not yet be achieved, since, by the
blessing of God, success has crowned the efforts made
in the construction of the Atlantic telegraph. Who can
now name an object of so vast magnitude and practical
bearing upon the famil)' of mankind, that would require
the united skill, art, science and indomitable persever-
ance of two natives, or even the world ? Canals, rail-
roads, team-bridges and telescopes have been brought to
an astonished perfectability, and, to cap the climax,
lightning has come, as Heaven's vicegerent, tracing the
submarine cable, annihilating time and distance, as if to
aid in the miohtv reform when a nation sliall be born
in a day I Who, then, shall doubt the fulfilment, and,
ere long, of the prophecy of Isaiah, in its spiritual
sense, " when the wolf also, shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the

52 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

calf and the young lion, and the fatling together ; and
a little child shall lead thera. And the cow' and the
bear shall feed ; their young ones shall lie down together ;
and the suckling child shall play on the hole of the
asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all
ni}^ holy mountahi, for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."

Who will not then join in the universal anthem of
''Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good
will to men."

In February, 1(S24, Messrs. Zebulon and Nathaniel,
sons of Nathaniel Ingersoll, Senior, of New' Gloucester,
of whom mention has been made, left Bangor in com-
pany with James Babcock, with five or six hundred
dollars worth of goods, destined for Iloulton. They
came on the ice of the Penobscot, Mattawamkeag and
Baskahegan rivers, thence following a newly cut road
for horses and sleighs to pass. On this route is a horse-
back, as it is called, upon which the road passes four or
five miles, running nearly north and south, crossing an
extensive bog of two or three miles in width, which
lies about sixteen miles south from Houlton. This
horseback is, what some would style, one of nature's
accidental developments — a mere production of blind
chance, void of design or plan; but we would rather
ascribe the construction of that turnpike (just wide
enough for teams to pass, without falling down a de-
clivity of twenty-five or thirty feet into a marsh which
forms a striking contrast to that formidable highway,)
to the universal Architect, by whom it appears to have
been made to facilitate transportation for man, the lord
of His creation and creature of His care. We are in-
formed tliat this horseback, with but little interruption,
.excepting where the diverging streams are wont to pass,
extends in a northerl}* direction through Amit}-, No. 11,

HISTORY OP^ HOULTON, 53

Hodgdoii, HoLilton, and continues on the same course
to an indefinite distance, assuming, as it does, in many
places, a more formidable ridge than above described,
until it becomes lost in the swells of Aroostook. These
traders having arrived at Houlton, Mr. Z. Ingersoll re-
mained in the vicinity and engaged in the lumber busi-
ness in company with Messrs. Joseph and Henry Houlton,
in the valley of the Aroostook, in which enterprise they
were successful. Mr. Ingersoll, for man}^ years, was
rather a transient inhabitant of Houlton; and still he
might, with propriet}', be styled such, although himself
and family have long been residents of the place; yet
he is a land-holder in Iowa, which calls; his attention
there more or less annually, Cf-i-v.

Mr. Stephen Pullen, a native of Waterville^ a man -of
industry and enterprise, removed from New Brunswick
to Houlton and purchased the farm of Doctor S. Rice,^
for which he paid 11400.

During the summer Rev. Mr. Howden, a Scotch Pres-
byterian from the Province, visited Houlton with his
famil}-, w^here he preached several Sabbaths, with whom
the inhabitants were pleased, and made an effort to build
1dm a house, with a view^ of enjoying his ministerial
labors as their settled pastor. But on a more mature
deliberation of the subject — considering the limited re-
sources of the church and people, and the requirements
necessary for their support, the anticipated relation was
relinquished.

In the autumn Mr. Shepard Car}* arrived at Houlton
from New Salem, his native place.

Messrs. Palmer & Cowen, from Kennebec, with a nu-
merous herd of cattk and horses, came thi'ougli to
Houlton. Soon after Mr. John Basford, Deputy Sheriff
from Augusta, accompanied by Messrs. Black and Rollins,
arrived v/ith twelve horses and goods to a considerable
amount, which were principally sold in the Province.

54 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

Mr. Basford attached a part of the stock driven by said
Palmer and Co wen, by virtue of a precept from Au-
gusta. Mr. Basford has since remained, an active and
useful resident of Houlton.

About this time Messrs. Kimball & StiiiSon came, also,
with horses and goods. Horses, oxen, and commodities
of all kinds even to the equipage of sleighs, harnesses,
&c., were disposed of without sacrifice. Three young
men, viz.: Steward, Hutchinson and Colboth, shoemakers,
came to Houlton from Kennebec, and worked at their
trade in a small building on the bank of the creek.
Mr. James Gould, a native of Berwick, blacksmith, re-
moved to Houlton, where he commenced business, and
succeeded as a skillful workman.

In the summer of 1825, Messrs. While, Cummings,
Eastern and Babcock left Bangor with eight horses and
several bateaux loaded with goods, destined for Houlton,
following their accustomed route. We believe that this
was the first effort made to convey goods of any consid-
erable amount, by water craft to this part of the country.
Leaving their bateaux at Baskahegan they transported
the loads on liorses a distance of about twenty miles to
the transient home of those traders. About this time
Daniel Bracket, a native, (we believe), of Limerick,
came to Houlton and worked with Mr. Gould at the
anvil.

John Matherson, a native of Scotland, removed from
the Province to Houlton. Mr. Matherson informed the
writer that he raised from his first clearing of five acres,
200 bushels of wheat ; ten do. of corn ; 100 do. of pota-
toes ; 25 do. of turnips, and a cart-load of pumpkins,
which, estimated at the prices for which those articles
of produce then sold, would amount to about $il'2.

October 7, 1825, was signalized by a fire, which pre-
vailed in this region of country and in the Province of
New Brunswick, Miramichi appeared the most distin-

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 55

guished for its dreadful I'avages, hence, it derived the

appellation of the "- Miramichi fire."

The wind, like Sirocco, for daj's had blown.
And night's sable mantle o'er earth was thrown ;
While the fire appeared from heaven to come down,
On woodland and plain, on hamlet and town.

While darkness profound pervaded the night ;
The contrast dire, made more vivid the light,
Like the flash of cannon and the sheen of war,
Which rendered more frightful the midnight hour.

So great was the destruction of that place, that hu'.i-
dreds of the inhabitants perished. The writer was in-
formed by Mr. Newman, a native of Mii-amichi, but a
resident of Houlton, who witnessed that tragical scene,
that the village of Newcastle, and Douglasstown, three
miles below, Avere both consumed. The fire came upon
them so suddenly that they could make no preparation,
— surprising them, as it did, in the night, the people
were obliged to flee from their houses, for refuge, to
caves and wells, — children were crying for their parents,
and parents, frantic with grief and despair, for their
children. The animals instinctively run for the rivers
and streams. There were instances, we were informed,
where the lives of individuals were preserved by holding
on to them while swimming. The waters did not " be-
come blood," but were so impregnated with smoke and
ashes, as to kill the fish — the salmon died in their native
element. The scene, to the inhabitants of Miramichi,
who, at that time, were an amalgamation of different
nations, must have been not unlike that which was fore-
told of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the day of
judgment, in the 2oth chapter of Mathew, ''neither let
him that is in the field return back to take his clothes,''
&c. Many who fled to the river were drowned, among
whom a familv, (husband, wife and children,) while
endeavoring to cross the river in a canoe, from Douglass
to Chatham, a distance of about two miles, were over-
whelmed by the waves and all lost.

§6 HISTORY OF houlton;'

Those in the forest that were remote from the river.
and streams, and had nowhere to flee for refuge, fell
victims to the raging element. From a party of seven
men engaged Inmbeiing, only one escaped to relate the
intelligence of the sad fate of his companions ; and his
life was saved by literally bur3dng himself in mad.
These instances of mortality were no isolated cases, but
we mention them as giving a general idea of tlie condi-
tion of those who perished during that storm of wind
and fire.

The people being left houseless, man}^ became objects
of public charity, for the town was totally destroyed ;
but they soon were relieved by the proffered aid, in
clothing, provisions, &c., which were brought in ship-
loads from England and the States. The drouth pro-
ceeding -this, was so extreme, having had no rain, but
heavy [ dews, for three months in that vicinity, the
streams and springs that were never known to be dr}^
furnished no water ; the fire extended through the wil-'
dei*ri^ss in therlow lands, where there was much tiii^,
and' burnt the' trees down by the roots, leaving the for-
est; in man}^ places, in a state of ruin Worse than that
of a tornado. '''* .t >

The Wilderness of the Miraraichi country consisted
very much of pine, and for many years had been the
theatre of lumber operations ■ which, in a measure, a'c-
counts for the more dreadful destruction in that region,
both for man and beast. In places the green pine groves
were entirely consumed, leaving the ground a barren
waste. There were the fallen 'leavCvS, dry as tinder, and
other combustibles common to the forest — the wind,
which always accompanies a conflagration — the fire catch-
ing in the bark and moss of trees, flaming to their tops,
scattering broad-cast the flying leaves and cinders ; — -
no wonder that the fire had the appearance of descend-
ing from heaven, amid the atmosphere of smoke. Neither

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 57

is it so much a subject of iistouishment, that some even
thought tliat the time of the final judgment had com-
menced, as that Millerism should so far have fanaticized
the people, as to have furnished so many subjects for
the Insane hospital. It must liave been a time of terror
and disma}^ to the most daring and intrepid.

What rendered the fire more extraordinary was, that
on the 7th of October it prevailed simultaneously in the
various sections of Maine, as well as in the Province
of New Brunswick. On that day a large portion of
Fredericton was burned, while the fire was spreading at
the Oromucto, and at the same time the inhabitants of
Houlton and the adjacent county were suffering more or
less from its ravages, especially by the damage done to
their woodlands and maple orchards. The valuable tim-
ber-lands in the Penobscot region was a scene of confla-
gration, which not onl}^ consumed a vast amount of pine
timber, but ruined the soil, and at the same time was
doing its work of destruction at the Piscataquis. For
weeks the atmosphere exhibited the dense body of
smoke, which obscured the sun as, at times, to produce
the darkness of twilight, at noon-day. All eyes were
suffused with tears fiora the sable cloud which pervaded
the country, and the poor animals were swollen almost
to suffocation.

This, at that time, must have had more the appear-
ance of a visitation of the displeasure of the Almighty,
than anything of modern history which had transpired ;
and that he would presume to isolate the people of Mir-
amichi as the lone subjects of providential discipline —
no; far be it from us to pass judgment upon any; but
we have been informed that Miramichi had become no-
torious as a lumber depot, and a rendezvous for the
profligate, licentious and profane, and that gambling, de-
bauchery, and desecration of the Sabbath there prevailed ;
we have thought it possible that this severe chastisement

58 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

was signally directed by Him who does not williugU^
afflict His creatures, but to callus to a sense of " our ac-
countability to our rightful Sovereign.

But the discussion of this subject may appear foreign
to our purpose, and we will not dwell upon the merits
or demerits of this extraordinary occurrence.

Perhaps the writer may be considered too general and
prolix in the description of this fire, as Houlton was not
the theatre of its triumph ; but we feel that the extent
and universality of this singular event, may atone for
our having so far departed from the limits of our legit-
imate sphere.

We have acquainted our readers with the incidents
connected with the settlement of this town, and in
drawing to a close it seems necessary to state that with
the exception of one person, Lysander Putnam, all of
th6 early settlers have gone to their long home. The
following is partly a repetition of what has already been
stated, but being in a condensed form will be very val-
uable to preserve :

Houlton is the shire tjwn of Aroostook County, is
situated on the eastern border of Maine, and is 250
miles from Portland, via the old " Military Road " from
Bangor. The Houlton Branch of the N. B. & C. Rail-
way was completed in 1870. From here start the stage-
•routes to Presque Isle, Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Linneus,
Danforth and Patten, in Maine, and Woodstock, in New
Brunswick. ...::,.

The town is bounded on the north by Littleton, south
b}^ Hodgdon, west by New Limerick, and east by Rich-
mond, in New Brunswick, , In the nbrtliwestern part of
-the town are two large *'" Horse-backs;" ; but t'he surface
generally lies in large swells. The soil is -a deep, rich
loam, underlaid by clay and yielding abundantly of the
itsual farm crops^ The Meduxnekeag river, a branch of
the Saiiit John, flows, from. south west to nprtheast thrOu^^h

HISTORY OF HOULTON.

59

(lie midst of the town. Bog, Moose, and Cook Brooks,
tributaries of tlie Meduxnekeag-, are the other principal
streams. The powers on the river are known as the
Gary, Page & Madigan, Ham, Logan, Mansur, Cressey
and Houlton water powers. The manufacturing is
chiefly on the Cary power in the southwestern part of
the town, and on the Cressey and Houlton powers, in
this village. There are two cheese factories, two starch
factories, a woolen mill, three lumber mills, three flour
mills, one tannery, one iron foundry and machine shop,
two printing ofiices, sash, blind and door factory.

Other manufactures are bark extract, harnesses, boots
and shoes, carriages, marble-work, etc. Houlton also
contains express and telegraph offices, custom house,
photographer's saloon, one book-bindery, five hotels,
three livery stables, three tailoring establishments, three
drug stores, two insurance agencies, one savings bank
and one national bank, four saloons, one bakery, two
barber-shops, tw^o public halls, six churches, forty-eight
stores, one bowling-alley, two billiard rooms and one
skating rink. Our fire department consists of one steamer,
hand-tub, hook-and-ladder truck, and a chemical engine.
This town is also blessed (?) with eight doctors, eight-
teen lawyers, and two dentists.

Houlton is the center of trade for the county, and is a
busy and thrifty town. The village has many handsome
residences, and there are several well-shaded and very
attractive streets. The Houlton Savings Bank, in May,
1881, held 160,000 in deposits, from its 500 depositors.

There are two weekly newspapers published in the
village, the '' Aroosfook Pioneer " and the " Aroostook
Times," The *' Pioneer,*' the first newspaper in the
county, was established in Presque Isle, Dec. 1857, by
W. S. Oilman, and was moved to Houlton in 1868.
The '^ Times ''was established in 1860, by Theodore
Cary.

6o HISTORY OF HOULTON.

The Houlton Academy has done noble service in the
cause of education. Many who have ah-eady gone out
from its walls have achieved distinction in their callings,
and there is every reason to hope that its future work
will surpass that of its earlier period. The building is
a good one and occupies ample grounds.

In 1868 a telegraph line Avas stretched from Wood-
stock, N. B. to Houlton, through the efforts of W. S.
Gilman.

In 1830, a military station was established here by the
national government, but the troops w^ere removed in
1847, during the war with Mexico. The barracks occu-
pied a position on the outskirts of the village near the
railwa}^ s.tation, and have long since fallen to decay.
The Aroostook County meridian line is established on
the eastern side of the parade ground. A soldiers' cem-
etery is near by.

The county court-house and jail occupy a central po-
sition in the village. Houlton has nine public school-
houses ; and the entire public school property in land and
buildings is valued at $7000. The valuation of estates
in 1870 was $681,646. In 1880 it was $725,469. The
population in 1870 was 2,850. In 1880 it was 3,228.

APPENDIX.

The following copies of old documents relating to the
early history of Houlton, were kindly furnished us by
J. F. Pratt. M. D., of Chelsea, Mass. They are petitions
to the great and general court of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, for the incorporation of the Plantation
into a town :

To the Honbl. Senate and House of Representatives
in General Coui-t Assembled at Boston, Jan. 1810 : The
Petition of the Subscribers Humbly Sliewith: That your
Petitioners are situated very remote from any Incopo-
rated Towns within this Commonwealth (at least one
hurdred miles), which makes it very necessary that we
should be Incoporated into a Town. Our Infant Set-
tlement we hope and expect will rapidly increase pro-
vided we can have some small Indulgance of Govern-
ment. The Inconveniences which we labor under in our
present situation must most clearly be seen by your
Honors, but w^e beg leave to state few particulars. In
the first place we beg leave to observe that we were
from a country where we were always acustomed to have
regular Preaching & Schools regularly established ; which
w^e can never have" established here in our Unincoporated
State. Nor can we open Roads to any advantage, either
to accomodate ourselves or the Publick, and we beg
leave further to observe that many things which are mat-
ter of Record which happens in any Settlement, such as
marriages, intentions of marriage. Berths, Deaths <S:c.,

62 HISTORY OF HOULTON.

all required by law to be recorded. We are sensible
that we have the privilidge of going to the next Inco-
porated Town, but when your Honors turn your atten-
tion for a moment to our local situation, being one hun-
dred and Ten from any Incorporated Town & that thro
a Wilderness without Road our advantage dwindles into
nothing. We therefore Pray your Honors that we may
be Incorporated by the following bounds vis. Begining
on the Boundary line of the United States at the South
East Corner of a Tract of Land granted to New Salem
Academy and thence West 13^ North six miles, to the
Southwesterly corner of said Grant, thence North 13'^
East Three miles. Thence East 13"^ South six miles to
the North East Corner of said Grant on the Boundary
line, thence on the Boundary line to the first bounds,
Avith all the privilidges that other Towns Avithin this
commonwealth Injoy, to be Incorporated by the name of
Houlton. We are sensible that it is the usual custom
to require an " Order of Notice " before an act of In-
corporation is passed, but when our situation is taken
into view that our being Incorporated or not being In-
corporated, concerns none but ourselves, we hope the
usual custom of Notifycation will be dispensed with and
an Act of Incorporation Granted. And fully relying on
your goodness we as in duty bound shall ever pray.

Plantation of Holton^ Sept. 5th 1809.

(Signed)

Joseph Houlton, Samuel Cook, James Houlton, John
Allen, Joseph Goodnough, Samuel Houlton, Benjamin
Marshall.

The following in another hand writing is at bottom of
Petition — "4 famalies Aaron Putnam moved since the
Petition was drawn."

In Senate, Jan. 26, 1810. Read and committed to the

HISTORY OF HOULTON. 6^

standing committee on Incorporation of Towns and to
consider and report.

Sent down for concnrrence,

N. G. Otis, Prest.

In House of Reps. Jan. 27, 1810.

Read and concurred.

Timothy Bigelow, Speaker.

The committee of both houses appointed to consider
application for the Incorporation of Towns, Districts, etc.
On the Petition of Jesse Houlton & others praying to
be Incorporated in a Town, Ask leave to Report that
the Petitioners have leave to Withdraw, which is sub-
mitted.

Salem Town, per order.
In Senate, Feb. 20, 1810. Read and accepted.
Sent down for concurrence.

N. G. Otis, Prest.
In the House of Reps. Feb. 21, 1810.
Read and concurred.

Timothy Bigelow, Speaker.

To the Honerable Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the commonwcaltli of Massachusetts in General
Q^;urt Assembled. The subscribers hereby respectfully
repres?^^^ that they are inhabitants of a certain tract of
land o-iyen by the Legislature to the trustees of New
Salem Ac?^^^^^3' ^"^^ situated in the North District of
the County ^^ Washington. That they are at tlie dis-
tance of nea^b' ^'^^ hundred miles from any Incorporated
Town in the' District aforesaid ; that they also labor un-
der many a^^^^ great inconveniencey from the want of

64

HISTORY OF HOULTON.

iiLitliority to raise monies for making and repairing high-
ways & bridges within this Plantation, for supporting
a school for the instruction of their children & youth
and for maintaining the ministry among them, as far as
their numbers & correspondent ability may admit, the im-
portance of which will be duly appreciated by the Leg-
islature. These with many other considerations induce
us to solicit the Legislature to grant us an act Incor-
porating the Plantation of Houlton so called together
with the Half Township Granted to Groton Academy,
Avhich is bounded & described as by the Plan thereof in
the Land office as will appear into a Town by the name
of Houlton with all the powers & privileges possessed
by other Incorporated Town in the commonwealth and
as in duty bound will ever Pray.

[Signed]

Samuel Kendall,
Joseph Houlton,
Aaron Putnam,
Joseph Kendall,
Joseph Goodman,
James Houlton,
^ William Wilkins,
Samuel Cook,
Amos Putnam.

Oct. 30, 1818.

Edmund Cone,
Eben Wakner,
Joshua G. Kendall,
Michael O 'Brian,
Samuel Houlton,
James U. Taylor,
Edward Townsend,
Samuel Rice,

1053